1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to sonic detection systems and methods, and, in particular, to graffiti detection systems and methods.
2. Related Art
The following description of the background of the invention is intended to aid in the understanding of the invention, but is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the invention.
Every day, countless acts of graffiti are being committed to public and private property throughout the world. The property damage resulting from graffiti is estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually. Further, graffiti tends to be a recurring problem. For example, if a structure surface such as a wall is tagged with graffiti, to eliminate the graffiti, the property owner may have the graffiti removed by, for example, power washing the surface, or, more likely, will paint over the graffiti with a paint that is the same or similar to that on the rest of the surface. However, removing graffiti is frequently a temporary cure because the removed graffiti creates, in effect, a new canvas for the tagger, and invitation for another round of graffiti.
Catching the tagger is difficult because the graffiti-making act usually occurs late at night, at no-light or low-light locations, and/or at remote locations. Thus, there is often no witnesses of a graffiti-making act, allowing the tagger to get away without consequence. Even if witnesses exist, they may be too intimidated to report the tagger for fear of retaliation. If a witnesses exists, by the time the witness reports the tagger, the tagger may be long gone when the police arrive. As a result, most graffiti-related crimes go unsolved and unpunished.